The present invention relates to the field of cultivation of plants in controlled environments, and more specifically to the field of aeroponic cultivation of plants.
The increase of human population in geographic areas of environmentally adverse conditions has given rise to the need for an efficient, economical and easy to use apparatus to cultivate nutritious edible plants indoors for human consumption. The present invention also provides year-round cultivation in areas where seasonal changes prevent or limit outside growing.
The field of indoor cultivation of plants using soil-less units such as hydroponic or aeroponic apparata has arisen to address this need. As an example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,173 discloses a hydroponic unit, which delivers a controlled amount of nutrient solution to the roots of the plants in order to most efficiently cultivate their growth. Although the design and functioning of the ""173 apparatus is significantly different than that of the present invention, some of the basic principles of soil-less cultivation set forth therein pertain to the present invention. It is important that the delivery of the liquid nutrients to plant roots not exceed a maximum level, nor should the plant roots be deprived of nutrient and allowed to dry for too long a period of time. If over-watering occurs, the plant may die or have its growth inhibited from root rot. Allowing the roots of the plant to be dry for too long results in dehydration and starving the plant. Thus, an accurate method of delivering controlled amounts of liquid nutrient to the roots of a plant is desirable. The present invention provides an improvement over the ""173 device in that it affords a novel, efficient and economical aeroponic low pressure delivery apparatus.
Hydroponic units are generally taken to refer to units in which the roots are submerged in a reservoir of nutrient solution. U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,105 to Nir discloses the development of an aeroponic unit, which introduces the concept of plant roots suspended in a chamber wherein they are misted at periodic intervals with a mixture of air and nutrient solution. This was seen to be a more efficient, accurate and economical method of delivering the nutrient solution. Nir""s device relies on the use of nozzles and a pumping system for delivery of liquid nutrients which incorporates a pneumatic pump powerful enough to generate a flow rate high enough to effectively atomize the liquid nutrients and dispense the liquid nutrients through a nozzle to the roots of the plants.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,514,930, describes a method and apparatus for aeroponic growth, which relies on the use of nozzles to distribute the liquid nutrient solution to the roots of the plants utilizing water pressure from any source including a standard household tap as a high pressure source. The precise control of the liquid suction venturi provides an intermittent hydro-atomized spray to the plants.
More recently, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,136,804 and 5,300,260, for example, describe aeroponic units with complex fog generator units.
U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. 397,280, 402,230, 402,296 and 402,668 refer to designs for the outer shell of the unit.
Also, the above described devices take up large amounts of space, are physically cumbersome and not aesthetically pleasing for the home consumer. A significant degree of expertise or academic interest is required in order to efficiently cultivate plants in these units. This was largely due to the complexity of the pressurized pump system utilized in theses units for high pressure oxygenated spray to the enclosed chamber which were expensive to manufacture, bulky, loud, and complicated to operate and repair. These prior art units could require repair when the nozzles of the spraying units became clogged with scaling due to dissimilar metals in the nozzle assembly or organic matter which results from biological processes involved in plant growth. This potential clogging could result in deficient delivery of the liquid nutrient solution and prevent optimum plant growth. The present invention provides a liquid nutrient delivery system which does not rely on nozzles and therefore eliminates this potential problem.
Prior art aeroponic growth units have contained spraying or misting parts which have generally required pressurized pumps or expensive mist generators to supply the nutrient solution in the form of a mist or fine droplets. The present invention described herein has provided an economical alternative to these designs in that it comprises a low pressure liquid nutrient delivery system based on centrifugal force, which utilizes an inexpensive low pressure pump and low voltage motor in order to deliver liquid nutrient solution to the roots of the plants.
The device of the present invention provides an aeroponic cultivation unit which is aesthetically pleasing to the consumer, and which is economical to manufacture and operate due to the improved novel nutrient delivery system. The nutrient delivery system of the present invention does not require pressurized air or water through a high pressure nozzle to evenly distribute the liquid nutrients to the roots of the plants.
Aeroponic cultivation holds wide appeal in many circles due to its facilitating the growth of fresh, organic herbs, vegetables, fruit and ornamental flowers easily in the home. The apparatus of the present invention provides an aeroponic growing apparatus having a simple, inexpensive, quiet and resilient nutrient delivery system in a compact design allowing for a cost-effective plant growing environment. The instant invention provides important features over prior art devices including providing a system which makes the process of aeroponic cultivation available to any consumer, in a package that is attractive, utilitarian, quiet and convenient to use and can be installed in any home as a domestic appliance. The invention described herein provides such improvements in that it comprises a lightweight, aesthetically pleasing, quiet and convenient to use product. The novel liquid nutrient delivery system is most specifically the component which lowers the cost to facilitate that this appliance may be delivered to consumers at a previously unattainable, affordable price. A further need within the industry is the ability to provide an optimum amount of growing space in these units, which is divided in such a way that the cultivation of different types of plants is facilitated in a more sophisticated and amenable design layout.
The present invention provides an improvement over the prior art in that the nutrient delivery system consists of a rotating cylinder device which requires a smaller pump and motor than prior art devices and no nozzles to become clogged with organic matter or scaling as discussed above. This feature of the present invention is a low pressure automated liquid nutrient solution delivery system which is used as part of an aeroponic growth unit. The liquid nutrient solution discussed herein is intended to comprise any liquid which enables plant growth. This includes oxygenated or aerated water mixtures which may or may not contain added nutrients
The present invention seeks to overcome problems and difficulties associated with former aeroponics systems by incorporating a new design which allows for the cultivation of a number of different types of plants, is presentable, attractive, quiet and convenient to use as a domestic kitchen appliance.
Aeroponic growing of plants provides an effective method of cultivating plants in adverse environmental conditions such as drought or diminished air quality.
The present invention provides an improved apparatus for aeroponic growing of plants which distributes nutrient solution to the plant roots efficiently, quietly and economically.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for aeroponic growing of plants which is designed for counter-top use by the consumer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for aeroponic growing of plants for counter-top use by the consumer, which apparatus comprises a means for varying the height of the plant support member.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for aeroponic growing of plants which has multiple growing chambers for discrete growing of different kinds of plants.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for the aeroponic growing of plants which is economical and easy to use.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for the aeroponic growing of plants which is easily disassembled for cleaning, and in fact, can be cleaned in a household dishwasher.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel, effective and efficient liquid nutrient delivery system.
The invention will be more fully understood and appreciated from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings